Child seats for use in a vehicle as such are known.
It is further known that in many situations a child, especially a small child, travels more safely in a child seat facing rearwards than forwards, since a rearward-facing child seat provides more support for the child's head in the event of a sudden deceleration. Such rearward-facing child seats may be placed on the front passenger seat and/or the rear seat.
A child seat may comprise a shell of a rigid material such as plastic, which shell is intended to protect the child in case of a collision. The shell is commonly at least partly covered by a cover of a softer material to provide comfort for the child. However, due to the weight of the shell, such a child seat has a considerable weight and may therefore be difficult to handle, especially when installing the child seat in a vehicle or removing it from the vehicle. Further, when not in use, it may be desirable to store the child seat somewhere else in the vehicle and it will then, due to its construction, occupy a rather large space for example in the luggage boot.
WO2006/030048 A1 relates to an inflatable child seat which can be fitted to the rear part of front passenger seat of a motor vehicle. A support is mounted to the back rest of the front passenger seat using fixing means comprising clamps that are positioned on the back rest. In addition, a structure of a box is removably mounted to the support with a fixing anchor. The box comprises a part which can rotate by means of hinges and a cover that rests on an area of the rear seat of the vehicle. In this way, when the child seat is closed, the visible face thereof is aligned with the rear surface of the back rest. Moreover, the box contains a canvas surface which is built into the inner periphery of the box and the cover. The canvas surface is equipped with a safety belt for the baby, such as to define a housing which communicates with an air inlet for inflating the seat-forming canvas using air from an actuated compressor that is connected to the electric system of the vehicle.
Since, according to WO2006/030048 A1, the child seat is attached to the front seat, its safety in case of an accident is dependent on the properties of the front seat. Thus, if the back rest of the front seat were to collapse in a collision, so too will the child seat.
Moreover, the suspension of the child seat of WO2006/030048 A1 is further influenced by the angle of the backrest. If the back rest is reclined backwards, the child seat will be sloped in such a way that the child may slide along the seat cushion. It may therefore be difficult to obtain a comfortable position of the back rest for a passenger at the same time that a child is able to sit securely in the child seat.